BOSTON - As part of its background checks on casino developers, gaming regulators in Massachusetts expect to examine MGM Resorts International's Macau business partner, whose father has been linked by New Jersey officials to organized crime.

MGM, which is proposing a casino in Springfield, agreed to divest its part ownership of a New Jersey casino in 2010, after New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement raised doubts about Pansy Ho, who is MGM's partner in China, and her father, Stanley Ho.

Stanley Ho controlled a casino company that allowed organized crime to enter the Macau gaming market, a special report by the division said. He had designated his daughter as his representative in negotiating with MGM, and had close business ties to his daughter, according to the report.

MGM, which initially said it disagreed with the report, has recently asserted that the facts have changed since 2010, and there is now a financial and personal rift between Stanley and Pansy Ho.

James Murren, the CEO of MGM Resorts International, speaks during a press conference when the company in August unveiled its plan for a casino resort in downtown Springfield.The Republican photo by Mark M. Murray

However, Stephen P. Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said MGM's partnership with Pansy Ho will be part of the commission's investigations into the ethics of top officers and directors of casino developers. The commission has started background investigations on 11 casino applicants.

"Anybody who is a significant influence in any of our bidders has to be qualified," Crosby said. "If Pansy Ho or anybody else is going to be a major player, we will have to make sure they are up to snuff."

When asked if the commission will look at the Ho family and their connections, Gayle Cameron, a commission member and retired deputy superintendent for the New Jersey State Police, said, "Yes ... we will be looking at everything."

The commission's background checks will include all an applicant's licenses and all jurisdictions in which they operate, Cameron said.

"It will be a full investigation for every one of them, not just MGM, every single company," she said.

When asked if the issue around Pansy Ho could be a problem in Massachusetts, MGM Chairman and CEO James J. Murren said he is very confident the facts will speak for themselves. He said the facts changed materially since New Jersey ruled in 2010.

"MGM will prevail or not based on the merits of its proposal in Springfield versus other proposals in Western Massachusetts, not for other reasons," Murren said in a telephone interview.

Stanley Ho has never been charged with crimes and has denied any connections to organized crime, according to numerous newspaper articles.

The dispute surfaced again last week when MGM asked the New Jersey Casino Control Commission for the right to reapply for its license in New Jersey. The commission on Wednesday voted to approve the request.

Murren said he doesn't know how long it will take for New Jersey to rule once the company reapplies for its license in New Jersey. Murren said he feels good about the company's chances.

"We have to do our work," Murren said. "I feel like the facts are all on our side."

MGM is among four casino developers competing for a casino license in Western Massachusetts.

MGM is planning a $851 million casino on 14.5 acres in the South End of Springfield's downtown. Rival Penn National Gaming, is planning an $807 million casino on 13.4 acres in the North End of the downtown, including properties owned by The Republican.

In a Feb. 8 petition submitted in New Jersey, MGM said Pansy Ho is no longer a 50-50 partner in its Macau casino company, as she was when the division's special report was filed in 2009. Her interests have been reduced to 27.4 percent, and the Macau casino company is now publicly traded on the Hong Kong exchange, the company said.

In the special report, the division said Pansy Ho was "an unsuitable person" under the state's gaming law and recommended that MGM be directed to eliminate any business or financial association with her. The division said she was not independent of her father.

MGM said it now controls the board of directors of MGM China. MGM has six members on the company’s board, while Ho has two, the petition said

Stanley Ho, 91, is in ill health and has divested his interests in his daughter’s company, according to MGM’s petition. Stanley Ho is suing his daughter and other family members in a business dispute, indicating he is no longer in a position to improperly influence his daughter, the petition said.

MGM has been out of the Atlantic City casino market for almost three years and will have been out of the market for four years by time a new investigation is complete, the petition said.

As part of a 2010 settlement with the New Jersey division, MGM agreed that for a certain amount of time, it would hold in trust its ownership interest in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City and have the right to sell it under a certain deadline. Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp. operates Borgata and owns 50 percent of it.

Kevin E. Kennedy, chief development officer in Springfield, said the city is aware of the issue MGM faces in New Jersey, but on advice of its consultants, decided to allow the regulators in New Jersey and Massachusetts address it.

Kennedy said the city made no ruling on MGM's ties to Pansy Ho during the city's background investigations of casino developers.

Kennedy said the city's consultants "said they felt everything would be OK, that MGM was a bona fide, world-class company, but let the regulatory agencies make a ruling."

Kennedy said the gaming commission has a lot more financial resources and access to far more information than the city.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has decided to start negotiations on possible agreements with both MGM and Penn National.